The invention is based on a piston-type internal combustion engine in which the ignitability and speed of complete combustion of the operating fuel-air mixture is improved. In an internal combustion engine of this kind, known from German disclosure document DE-OS No. 27 57 648, the intention is to attain an increase in the compression ratio during knock-free operation in order to improve efficiency. By layering the charge, the operation of the engine with an operating mixture with the least possible fuel component is made possible. This layering is made possible, in particular, by means of the injection of fuel into the partial combustion chamber of the engine from a point located in the intake tube, and at a time which is at the end of the opening phase of the inlet valve. The layering is reinforced by means in the intake tube which create a spin, as a result of which the charge introduced therein is set into rotation, and the layering is also reinforced by a slight constriction of the connecting cross section between the partial combustion chamber and the rest of the combustion chamber.
The spin-generating means, however, have the disadvantage that they cause a throttling of the intake air, which reduces the possible extent of filling, and that after the charge has been ignited, during the expansion stroke, losses occur in the course of transmitting the charge into the chamber being formed as the result of the movement of the piston out of this location. As a result, the specific output of the engine is reduced.